Media Releases

Paris, 10 June 2015 – BIAC continues to support the G20 mandated Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, and has always sought to provide constructive and detailed input from the international business community across the full spectrum of OECD’s Action Items.
As the project enters its final phase, BIAC is releasing its BEPS Position Paper detailing specific concerns of the business community over the full range of BEPS Actions. The BEPS Position Paper aims to more closely focus the scope of the recommendations, with the aim of achieving a pragmatic, flexible and incremental approach to tax policy development. BIAC believes this will help tackle the important issues of base erosion and profit shifting that have concerned governments and their electorates, while at the same time protecting, and indeed encouraging where possible, the cross-border trade and investment that leads to critically needed growth and jobs.

Paris, 4 June 2015 – “Actions are urgently needed to step-up SME financing and enable companies to participate in global value chains”, said Phil O’Reilly, Chairman of BIAC, speaking today at a BIAC-B20 Turkey special event.

Challenges in accessing appropriate financing are often most acute for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and thus, their ability to participate in and across world markets. As banks continue to deleverage to meet new regulatory requirements, SMEs struggle to obtain sufficient finance through bank lending.

Paris, 3 June 2015 – “Policymakers must foster widespread confidence if they want to restore investment flows”, said BIAC Chair Phil O’Reilly at the OECD Council Meeting at Ministerial level (MCM) today. “Structural reforms are urgently needed to deliver growth that is stronger, more sustainable and more inclusive in the longer-term”.

BIAC welcomes the focus of this year’s MCM which takes place under the overarching theme of Unlocking investment for Sustainable Growth and Jobs. Business calls upon the OECD to speak up and convince countries of the need to remove the most persistent barriers to markets and put in place pro-investment policies.

BIAC Comments on the Release of the OECD Report on “Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use: Economics and Public Health Policy”

Paris, 13 May 2015 – BIAC commends the focus of the OECD on the importance of health for the success and the productivity of our economies. “We need to know more about the effectiveness of policies and innovative solutions that support the health of our people and workforce”, said Bernhard Welschke, BIAC Secretary General.

In this context, the recently launched OECD study on Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use: Economics and Public Health Policy could be seen as a missed opportunity, as the report struggles to offer a comprehensive analysis of the reasons and – most important – the solutions for alcohol-related harm. BIAC members appreciate the challenge to come to conclusions with a limited set of data and projections, but it is important not to jump to narrow conclusions, such as the emphasis on prices, by increasing taxes and setting minimum prices, and greater regulation of advertising as a way to reduce harmful consumption.

Business Priorities for Regional Integration in Southeast Asia: Five Steps for Economic Integration
Paris, 25 March 2015 – “Moving towards competitive markets is a prerequisite for investor confidence, job creation, and economic growth”, said BIAC Chairman Phil O’Reilly at the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Forum in Jakarta, commenting on a joint Business Statement by BIAC, the Indonesian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), and the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC).

Paris, 23 March 2015 – “Our economies cannot afford to miss out on the contributions of talented women entrepreneurs, if they should only come close to reaching their full potential”, said BIAC Secretary-General Bernhard Welschke on the occasion of the launch of a report on Putting ALL our ideas to work: Women and Entrepreneurship.

In June 2014, BIAC and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (Deloitte Global) led a discussion on the barriers facing women entrepreneurs, in particular to determine if there were special considerations for women entrepreneurs including their access to finance. BIAC and Deloitte Global release today the conclusions of this successful event, which brought together leading women entrepreneurs, government officials and high level OECD representatives. The event also featured the findings of an earlier business survey report Putting ALL our Minds to Work: An Assessment which looked at steps business is taking to retain and advance talented women within their ranks.

19 January 2015, Paris – “Considering the uneven recovery of OECD economies and serious imbalances in world markets, private sector-led growth has to be a top priority”, said BIAC’s Chair Phil O’Reilly today on the occasion of BIAC’s annual consultation with OECD Ambassadors.

Presenting the three pillars of the private sector’s growth agenda for 2015: Investment, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, O’Reilly added that: “Theagenda for growth can only succeed if there is trust. Trust in business, trust in governments, and trust in the OECD. More needs to be done by all of these parties to show that, with the right conditions in place, business can be a dynamic force for the success of our economies and the wellbeing of citizens.”

16 December 2014, Paris – “Today the world’s leading donors have made a commendable step towards using aid more efficiently and effectively while at the same time catalyzing more private investment into developing countries”, commented Thomas de Man, Chair of the BIAC Development Task Force, on the occasion of the High Level Meeting of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). “This is a crucial element of the Post-2015 development agenda”, he added.

Paris, 28 October 2014 – Participants to the Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) meeting on 23 and 24 October in Dublin agreed that ever greater cooperation is necessary to implement the results of the OECD project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting and Automatic Exchange of Information.

Paris, 8 October 2014 – “Unless we find better ways to boost the financial means for achieving sustainable development, global efforts for a Post-2015 Development Agenda will fall short of expectations”, BIAC Secretary-General Bernhard Welschke said yesterday.